Down to Earth
by Torchius
Summary: Rainbow Dash is stranded on Earth with nothing but a magical camera and her clothes, and is in the care of a complete stranger. Contains: Dislestia, TwiDash
1. 1: Dear Princess Celestia, Forgive Me

Twilight Sparkle stared at the picture she held in her hooves. _It had been four months since Dash had left her and two weeks since she had gone silent. Since she had left all of them._ "I… I thought you were my friend…" In tears, she telekinetically threw the picture at a wall, causing the glass panel to shatter. "I thought you said you'd come back. I thought you said you would be fine. I… I thought you said that friends don't die on friends. I thought you said you l—"

The door slowly creaked open. "What do you want?" grumbled Twilight, attempting to keep her voice from cracking.

"I… just wanted you to know I'm fine." Twilight couldn't believe her ears. She looked towards the door, and saw Rainbow Dash standing there.

"Where have you been? You made us blame ourselves for your disappearance! Pinkie hasn't talked to anypony since you left, Rarity's clothes she designs are grey and lifeless, Applejack won't even touch apples anymore, Scootaloo quit her hoofball team, Fluttershy will barely even leave her house, and I've been too upset to write any friendship reports lately. Why were you gone for so long? Why didn't you come back sooner?"

"Twilight, is Spike here?" says Rainbow Dash, seemingly trying to avoid her questions.

"That didn't answer my question, Rainbow Dash."

"Tell Spike to get some paper."

Twilight sighs in defeat and trots upstairs. "Spike, are you awake? I need you to get the parchment!"

Spike groans, and with a tired voice he replies, "Twilight, did you set the calendar two days ahead? Your next friendship report won't be needed to be written before Friday!"

"Spike, get up, Rainbow Dash needs you to get some parchment."

"But she's _dead!_"

"No, she isn't dead."

"But her funeral was, like, two months ago! Is she a ghost? Or did you bring her back to life with some crazy ancient magic stuff?"

"Well, there wasn't a body at the funeral since nopony would, or could, go through after her, Spike, so we didn't know if she really was dead."

"So she isn't dead?" Spike asks.

"That's exactly what I said!" replies Twilight with a frustrated groan.

* * *

><p>Almost four months ago, six multicolored pastel equines stood in the center of their local library. Two were unicorns, both their horns lit aglow as if by some magical force. A yellow pegasus fluttered her wings nervously; what if it went wrong? An orange earth pony dug at the ground, with the same thoughts as the yellow pegasus. A pink pony smiled, hoping she'd be the next pony to go through if it worked. A final blue pegasus floated in the air with a daring smile on her face. "You ready yet Twi?"<p>

"Almost, Rainbow Dash!"

The blue pony's grin widened when the portal opened, emanating a bright grey light over the room. The actual portal itself was a shimmering silver orb which was emitting the light. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and flew through the portal.

The group waited nervously for her to return back to tell them what it was like on the other side. It was about three minutes until a hand emerged from the portal and gave a thumbs up. All the ponies in the room breathed a sigh of relief and a purple unicorn spoke out, "I can hold the portal open for about half an hour, just get some pictures and come back!"

"Will do, Twilight!" called out Rainbow Dash from the other side of the portal. She took several pictures, as evidenced by the rapid clicking noise coming from the portal, until Twilight suggested that she try recording a video. It filtered light through a magic lens and into a crystal which stored it. She did so, and then called out, "Hey Twilight? Is the portal supposed to be shrinking?"

"No!" Yelled Twilight, her horn glowing brighter. "Quickly Rainbow Dash, get through the portal!"

"I can't! It's too small for me to fit through!" replied Rainbow Dash frantically. "What happened to thirty minutes?"

"Somepony is interfering with the portal! I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, I don't think I can reopen it any further!" Twilight yelled out.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you can reopen it later. I'll be fine, just rest until you can make the portal again." Replied Rainbow Dash, trying to remain calm.

"I'm not sure if I—"

Suddenly, a shockwave sent the five remaining ponies in the library and the human on the other side of the portal flying. As the unicorns' horns dimmed, the portal snapped shut and Rainbow Dash was stranded, unconscious, in an unknown world with only a handheld camera and her clothes Twilight had provided for her.

Several hours later, Rainbow Dash came to under a tree as the sun was setting. She rubbed her head; it felt like she had slammed into a tree. When she removed her hand from her head, the blood on her hand confirmed it. She had been sent flying into a tree by some unknown force and had hurt her head in the process. When she had arrived the sun was at its zenith; it had to be almost seven now, as the sun was at the horizon. Rainbow stood up and surveyed her surroundings.

She was in a relatively normal park. There was nobody near her, probably because it was getting late. She couldn't see much due to the nearby trees, so she decided to climb up one a few meters away to see past them. As she scaled the tree, she grabbed a large but flimsy branch and it shook the tree, sending Rainbow and someone else falling towards the ground.

The human Rainbow had accidentally knocked out of the tree slowly recovered as Rainbow was startled from her fall.

"Hey, why'd you knock me out of that tree? I was just minding my own business, lying in a tree, watching the sunset, and what do you do? You shake the whole tree and knock me down! You could have killed me, you know that?"

"Whoa! I didn't know you were up there in the first place! It's your fault for being up there anyway, why not sit somewhere else like someone normal? Besides, it's barely a seven foot fall onto your ass. I've fallen further and complained less." Replied Rainbow. Of course, then she was a pegasus, but still. He at least shouldn't blame her for him climbing into a tree and falling.

"Because it's quiet here, or it was until you showed up." He replied, annoyed with the girl who had appeared out of thin air. "How did you get here anyways? The park's no entry after 5:00."

"The same way you did, through the gate." She lied. "I've been here longer than two hours, you know."

"Doing what? Not like there's much to do here."

"I've been practicing my f—" Rainbow Dash stops herself and continues, "running. I once came in first place in a competition!" Well, it wasn't a total lie, Rainbow Dash reasoned. She did win the Best Young Fliers competition, but she doubted that humans had such a thing. She decided to go on the safe side and change it to avoid suspicion.

"Yeah, whatever. I never knew someone so small could have such a huge ego."

"Who're you calling small, huh?" she said, poking him in the chest. She was easily a good three inches taller than him, making him sink down a bit.

"Hey, chill, I was just kidding." He replies quickly. "No need to get in a fight over it."

"All right, but the next comment I hear from you and—" she makes a gesture with her finger across her throat, "understand?"

He nods. "Yeah, all right. But we're gonna get kicked out of here soon, so we better get going."

"About that…" she mentions, rubbing her neck. "I kind of don't have anywhere to stay."

He sighs. "I think I have a tent I can put up in my backyard, if you don't know anyone else who you can stay with."

"Thanks, uh…" she pauses, waiting for his name.

"John. What's your name, anyway?"

She thinks for a moment, and then remembers some random gibberish Twilight said involving some language from ancient Roam and magical rituals. "My name's Iridis."

He blinks. "Well, that's something I haven't heard before. Is that Latin?"

"Uh… I think so?" Great, now Rainbow was wishing she actually paid attention to all that stuff Twilight never stopped talking about.

"Anyways, we better get out of here before we get forced to leave. My house is only fifteen minutes or so away, so it's not that long of a trip."

"All right, lead the way." She wasn't eager to have to sleep in a tent, but she supposed it would give her more time to use her camera. It had a magical link to Equestria, which worked even if the portal was closed due to the relatively small amount of mana needed to transport the video and sound. Even better, it worked both ways, so if Twilight figured out how, Twilight could send Rainbow messages.

The ride lasted about twenty-five minutes due to traffic, so Rainbow was irritable when they finally pulled into John's driveway. "I thought you said it would only be fifteen minutes?" she says.

"It was five o' clock traffic, what did you expect?" retorts John. "It's not my fault I can't just snap my fingers and teleport here!"

"Of course you can't, do you think you're Discord or something?" she replies.

"Who?" asks John.

"Nevermind, it's a long story and you probably wouldn't believe me anyway." She replies, sighing. "Probably his fault I'm stuck here." He unlocks the car doors and they both step out before he locks them back.

"So… this guy can just snap his fingers and teleport? Sounds kind of familiar…" he mumbles. He unlocks his front door, and opens it for 'Iridis', who mumbles 'thank you' under her breath as she looks around.

Overall, it wasn't that impressive of a house. It had one bedroom, two closets in the hallway, a kitchen, bathroom, living room, and dining area. Not to mention his basement, which had so much old junk in it he'd probably get poisoned due to asbestos exposure if he went down there.

"The tent's in this closet, it should only take five minutes for us to get it set up outside." Says John, as he opens the closet door and takes out the tent. He carefully maneuvers the tent through various doorways and opens the back door with his arm, before walking into the yard and setting the tent down. "We'll have to clear out the pinecones on the ground before we set it up, but it should be pretty comfortable considering it's a three-person tent."

They quickly get to work clearing the area of rocks and pinecones before laying the tarp, staking it down, and putting the poles into the tent itself. After they open the vents on the side, they attach the rainfly and make sure the zippers work.

"All right, you're all set. Looks like it's going to storm, so remember you can always close the vents if the wind picks up.

"Yeah, yeah, I know a lot about weather. Can you leave now so I can get set up?"

"Okay, jeez, I'm going!" says John as he goes back into the house.

Rainbow Dash pulls out her camera and begins recording. "Twilight, it's me, Dash. I just wanted to tell you that I'm fine and that I'm sure you'll find a way to get me home. Remember Twi, I—" Her words are cut off by thunder, and she stops recording and sends it to Twilight.

Meanwhile in Equestria, the library was in complete and utter chaos. Twilight was frantically checking all her lab equipment, trying to see if there was a way to reopen the portal.

"Calm down, Twilight, Rainbow is fine. She has the camera, which is still linked to the receiver." She says, trying to calm herself. "Besides, the elements have a fail-safe system in them. If a bearer is in a situation where the other bearers cannot help, they will create a bubble of protective magic around the bearer in danger, which can be tested. And seeing as there has been no magical activity from the elements since the portal's opening, Dash must be safe."

All the other elements were worried sick in the dining area of the library while Twilight was in the basement. She frantically shooed them out of there as soon as the portal closed.

"What do you think happened back there?" asks Rarity.

"I dunno, but I reckon that Twilight's worried sick because her ma—" Applejack is cut off by an ecstatic squeal coming from the basement, and Twilight running up the stairs.

"Girls, girls! Rainbow sent a message!" yells Twilight, before practically leaping down the stairs. She taps a glowing facet of the receiver crystal and it begins an illusion spell.

"Twilight, it's me, Dash." The image distorts and wavers for a moment, and the sound crackles. "wanted to tell you I'm fine—" the image and sound pause for a moment, before continuing, "sure you'll find a way to get me home. Remember Twi, I l—" The booming sound of thunder causes Fluttershy to shriek and hide, and the message ends.

The group begins cheering, clapping, and celebration that their friend is okay. All except Twilight, who has a melancholy look on her face.

"It's my fault, I should never have let her go through the portal. It was unsafe and reckless of me." She says, looking down at her hooves.

"Twi', it ain't your fault. None o' us could've guessed what was gonna happen. But please, Twilight, don't blame yourself." Replies Applejack.

"It's all my fault! I did something stupid and now Dash is gone! Who knows if there's even a way for her to get back?" argues Twilight.

"The elements' fail-safe would have activated and created a magical waypoint, which would create a link between here and there for the portal. Remember, Twilight, Dash knew the risks of this, and we can get her out." Says Rarity.

"Yes, she knew the risks going in. With how she is, though, I don't think she really understood them. She's the type of pony who takes risks and jumps to action, then asks questions. I know I shouldn't beat myself up over it, but I can't help but believe that part of this is my fault." Says Twilight.

"None o' this makes any sense, though! You did all that magic stuff to keep the portal open, how did it close?" asks Applejack.

"You're right, it doesn't make sense…" She narrows her eyes. "And I know just who to ask."


	2. 2: Stranded in a Strange Land

"What do you mean, you didn't do it?" asked Twilight furiously. "You're the only one who could have done it with all the magical protection I placed on the portal!" she exclaimed, her mane beginning to smoke.

"What I am saying, dear Twilight, is that I did not modify, tamper, or interfere with the portal in any way, shape, or form. Besides, I cannot enter or modify their world. My place in Equestria is to keep balance and order. With too much harmony, the world becomes frozen and unchanging." Discord freezes Twilight and her friends, minus Rainbow Dash, to prove his point. "No seasons, no plants growing, nothing. My chaos magic helps me keep the world moving, quite literally." With a snap of his fingers, he unfroze the group of ponies.

"But conversely, with too much chaos, and the world becomes quite a cruel place. The weather changes on its own, ponies commit terrible crimes, and so on." He said, beginning to continue until he was interrupted by Twilight.

"So you're saying that I trapped Rainbow Dash in a giant Everfree Forest?"

"Oh Twilight, so worried about your marefriend." Twilight blushed and began to protest, before Discord continued, "No, the human world is not quite as bad as that. They seem to be quite capable of taking care of themselves, if not without a little bit of trouble along the way. But if I stepped foot through that portal, or so much as touched it, I could quite possibly destroy their entire world. Seeing as those elements of yours haven't put a magic bubble around all of you, I couldn't have caused your poor marefriend Rainbow Dash to become stranded in the human world."

"She's not my marefriend!" replied Twilight, still embarrassed by his earlier remarks. "And if you didn't do it, who did?" she asked accusingly.

"Any number of ponies who would like the elements to be non-functional or at least separated. Celestia herself may have even attempted to sever the bond between you six in order to regain the power of the elements for herself."

"How [i]dare[/i] you suggest Celestia tried to kill Rainbow? She wouldn't do that!"

"Twilight, you have lived for a fraction of her life. Do you really know her all that well?" Twilight looked down, thinking, with a melancholy look on her face. "Besides, I'm merely throwing ideas out there. And considering we were having tea when the portal closed, I doubt either of us could have closed the portal from the moon."

"You and Celestia were having tea? Together? On the moon?" replied Twilight.

[hr]

It was about dawn in the human world, and Rainbow was tired as hell.

"Of course I had to come here and sleep in a tent the one night it rained." She said, wrapped in blankets and shivering on John's couch as he sat at his small dining room table and ate cereal. The forecast on the television said that it would be sunny the rest of the week.

"I told you to put the rainfly up, didn't I?" replied John, smirking.

"Oh, shut it!" said Rainbow.

"You didn't, you left the tent open all night." He retorted, still smirking.

"If I weren't freezing, I'd go over there and wipe that smirk off your face." She replied, chattering her teeth.

John began to reply before he heard a loud snore coming from the couch. Rainbow definitely didn't get enough sleep and was now passed out on his couch. A loud thud corrected him. She was now asleep on the floor, and still snoring. John sighed and continues to eat his cereal, ignoring the snoring coming from the floor by his couch.

Five minutes later, John was almost done with his cereal and Rainbow was still sleeping. Her arm was still up on the couch, with her hand holding a camera with no visible label on it. If someone looked at it at just the right angle, they would almost see it glow or shine a little, as if by some unnatural force. He shook his head; it was probably his sleep-deprived imagination. He hadn't gotten much sleep either, thanks to the storm, although it appeared he was better than Rainbow at working with little sleep. Looking back to the camera, he noticed it has brightened significantly. Shielding his eyes slightly, he moves over towards Rainbow Dash, and poked her.

"Iridis, wake up. I think your camera might be about to explode." 'Iridis' groaned.

"Ugh… thanks for waking me up." She said, as she processed what John said. "Wait, what?" She sat up and looked at her camera. "Hold on, I'll be right back." She ran out the back door, leaving a confused, milk-covered John holding a, now empty, bowl of cereal. He groaned and walked to his room to change clothes.

[hr]

"Hello Rainbow Dash, I have news. I haven't been able to find out why the portal closed, but I'm still working on it. Also, did you know Discord and Celestia are dating? Weird, huh?" Twilight chuckles. "Apparently Discord thinks we're in a relationship. Crazy, right?" Dash, for some reason, looks embarrassed and a little… disappointed? "But yeah, anyways, I'm working on getting the camera to receive and transmit audio and video at the same time. It's all theoretical now, but I'm working on a test model here, and if all goes well I can implement it in your camera. Although, you'll have to perform the changes to your camera yourself.

"Alternatively, if I get the portal working for small objects again, you could possibly send the camera over to me and I could work on it here in Equestria, then send it back over to you. If we do that, though, it'll leave us out of touch for a while, or at least until I get enough magical energy stored to reopen the portal. I'm sorry I can't open the portal for you to return yet, but transporting items will be the next step, seeing as we already know magic can transfer between worlds just fine." She pauses. "Sorry, I'm rambling again aren't I? Anyways, I just wanted you to know we're still trying to get you out of there, so don't worry. Bye for now, reply if you can."

The camera screen went dim and Rainbow Dash sighed softly.. "Yeah, crazy." She thought over the rest of what Twilight had said. [i]Knowing me and my skills with magic[/i], she thought, [i]it would be easier for me to just give it to Twilight[/i]. "Well, I guess I have to find something to do…"

John sighed. He had all the chores around the house done, and didn't really trust her with his money to go grocery shopping. Although, considering the girl looked bored out of her mind, he [i]could[/i] take her to go shopping with him… though, her rainbow hair might attract some strange looks.

"I have to wear [i]what?![/i]" shrieked Iridis, when she saw the hat John got out. "What's wrong with my hair? Why do I have to wear a [i]hat?[/i]?" John sighed again. This was going to be a long day.


End file.
